Label
Butterfly Proboscis
Artist
Catherine Fidd
Description
This is a scanning electron microscope image of a butterfly’s proboscis, the feeding tube used to ingest liquids. The flexible tube has a complex topography, imperceptible to the naked human eye. Humans’ current manufacturing abilities are still inferior to animal microstructures designed over millions of years of evolution. Therefore, preserving, appreciating, and studying the flora and fauna and their respective microstructures is imperative to advancing engineering design.
Type
Scanning electron microscope
Artist Affiliation
Graduate student
Department
FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Area of Research
Materials engineering, biology, tribology
Date
2023